I think being a US lady right now and making it to the GPF at all would be a huge boon.
Not like this. It would be by luck rather than competitiveness. If Ashley had scored over 200 and won a silver at SC and won SA with 214 points it would’ve showed how competitive she was with these other ladies. Getting a bronze with a 184 is not good at all. If she gets to the finals, it would be because she lucked out st SC and didn’t have a more competitive GP and had a home soil advantage at SA. Going into nationals with a sixth place finish makes our ladies look very weak. If she ended at SA, she could keep up the illusion that the US ladies are strong and will be competitive at the Olympics.
We all know the truth. We aren’t competive this year, and the odds of an Olympic medal in ladies is slim. But appearances everything when we’re talking reputation bias in relation to PCS. A loss can tank your PCS score in the next competition if you aren’t an established winner. Conversely a good win can boost it up the next competition.
It’s a lot of politics in FS. Going to the GPF and making last place doesn’t look good.